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linsey1828's review against another edition
2.0
I received this book as a present from my best friend, and I truly was looking forward to reading it, but something about it fell flat to me, and in the end took me about a year to get through. At first, I thought I simply needed a break from literature about the Russian Empire/ Soviet Union. I had just completed a thesis about the gulag, and just before this book sped through two books focusing on other aspects of the Russian revolution. I gave it a month, picked it up again, and still could barely make my way through a chapter.
Don't get me wrong, Merridale is an incredibly knowledgeable author and while she does provide a lot of context and insight on Lenin and his journey, the details on who is who often lead to the book dragging on at times.
I will say her last chapter was thoughtfully crafted, and my favorite of the whole book. Here Merridale shows the influence of Lenin over time from his death until today's Russia, showcasing the lasting impression he has in Soviet/ Russian history.
Don't get me wrong, Merridale is an incredibly knowledgeable author and while she does provide a lot of context and insight on Lenin and his journey, the details on who is who often lead to the book dragging on at times.
I will say her last chapter was thoughtfully crafted, and my favorite of the whole book. Here Merridale shows the influence of Lenin over time from his death until today's Russia, showcasing the lasting impression he has in Soviet/ Russian history.
janna93's review against another edition
3.0
“..the sound of tramping feet beat out a requiem for the old world - but no one could be sure where it might lead.”
,, Burghezia trebuia sa moara, conacele trebuiau sa arda din temelii si pretudindeni stapanii de sclavi trebuiau sa cunoasca sclavia pe pielea lor. " - I loved that specific quote and entire page too much not too add it in romanian, after not being able to find a translation
This was, to say the least, interesting. I definitely think it's a good book, and it's 100% worth the read, but it falls short of an incredible retelling of a very important moment of eastern European history, a kickstart to a near-century of suffering at the hands of the regime.
The good parts- you can tell that the author has done a loooot of research, and is able to provide an incredible amount of perspectives on a couple of months' worth of stories- it does not only follow the journey of Lenin on the train, but also the build-up of the Revolution at the beginning of 1917, as well as it's whole story, and the follow up political chaos that follows, offering an extensive view of Russia's true state, and the various actions of foreign states, over those difficult months. (sidenote, I was weirdly amused and interested in Parvus' meme-worthy existence. who is this guy and where can i find out everything about him lol.)
Lenin's proper story is built and presented from an objective view, not presenting any good-bad opinions until the final chapter where, thankfully, she shares the same opinions as to the majority of the world. I appreciated the last chapter, an overall, quite depressing, conclusion to Lenin's scary legacy on modern-day Russia. It was especially hard to see what happened with Lenin's comrades on the train and political partners during Stalin's rule.
What could have been better? I try to always read history and politics with caution and an open mind, and make sure I'm double thinking everything that is presented to me. There's definitely some subjective points in this book- the first chapter of the story starts off with a presentation of the British embassy and spies in Petrograd, and their opinions and involvement, even though irrelevant to the actual story, appears often through the book. You can tell it was written by someone in the west, that it's detached and only faintly impacted by this story. It would have been interesting to see the October Revolution, or at least its build-up presented, as the description of the events in February-March was done very well, and the action cuts off quite abruptly once Lenin gets to Sankt Petersburg.
At times, you can get easily lost in all the names and all the political titles and opinions their jobs, information on geographical whereabouts and families, participation in the war and foreign meddling, etc. I understand the need to flesh out each of these humans and what they represented concretely at the time, but it can be difficult to follow.
I appreciate this book a lot- I never knew that much about what really happened in Russia (and the whole of Europe really) during this particular time. Lenin's train journey across Europe is not a simple adventure to be told about- it led to events in Russia, and, ultimately political and social consequences that even still impact me, to this day. I would recommend reading this, with caution and low expectations, but an eagerness to learn more about this man and really what went down then.
,, Burghezia trebuia sa moara, conacele trebuiau sa arda din temelii si pretudindeni stapanii de sclavi trebuiau sa cunoasca sclavia pe pielea lor. " - I loved that specific quote and entire page too much not too add it in romanian, after not being able to find a translation
This was, to say the least, interesting. I definitely think it's a good book, and it's 100% worth the read, but it falls short of an incredible retelling of a very important moment of eastern European history, a kickstart to a near-century of suffering at the hands of the regime.
The good parts- you can tell that the author has done a loooot of research, and is able to provide an incredible amount of perspectives on a couple of months' worth of stories- it does not only follow the journey of Lenin on the train, but also the build-up of the Revolution at the beginning of 1917, as well as it's whole story, and the follow up political chaos that follows, offering an extensive view of Russia's true state, and the various actions of foreign states, over those difficult months. (sidenote, I was weirdly amused and interested in Parvus' meme-worthy existence. who is this guy and where can i find out everything about him lol.)
Lenin's proper story is built and presented from an objective view, not presenting any good-bad opinions until the final chapter where, thankfully, she shares the same opinions as to the majority of the world. I appreciated the last chapter, an overall, quite depressing, conclusion to Lenin's scary legacy on modern-day Russia. It was especially hard to see what happened with Lenin's comrades on the train and political partners during Stalin's rule.
What could have been better? I try to always read history and politics with caution and an open mind, and make sure I'm double thinking everything that is presented to me. There's definitely some subjective points in this book- the first chapter of the story starts off with a presentation of the British embassy and spies in Petrograd, and their opinions and involvement, even though irrelevant to the actual story, appears often through the book. You can tell it was written by someone in the west, that it's detached and only faintly impacted by this story. It would have been interesting to see the October Revolution, or at least its build-up presented, as the description of the events in February-March was done very well, and the action cuts off quite abruptly once Lenin gets to Sankt Petersburg.
At times, you can get easily lost in all the names and all the political titles and opinions their jobs, information on geographical whereabouts and families, participation in the war and foreign meddling, etc. I understand the need to flesh out each of these humans and what they represented concretely at the time, but it can be difficult to follow.
I appreciate this book a lot- I never knew that much about what really happened in Russia (and the whole of Europe really) during this particular time. Lenin's train journey across Europe is not a simple adventure to be told about- it led to events in Russia, and, ultimately political and social consequences that even still impact me, to this day. I would recommend reading this, with caution and low expectations, but an eagerness to learn more about this man and really what went down then.
viragohaus's review
There's the world in this story, running from the hopeful to the relentlessly horrific. And Merridale sets it out on the page but her mastery of the archives does not translate into a deftness with structure or with prose.
rogerb's review against another edition
4.0
A birthday present from Chris.
Terrific read: a historically famous event which she has hung the real facts on without spoiling any of the [political] romance. A rare event in which one man really did change the world.
She's a historian who writes really very well for we ordinary mortals. There's a bag of facts but you don't get lost in the lists of names and places, and cleverly stops the events before the later revolution, so the journey really is what matters.
My, how history gets written, rewritten and rerewritten.
Terrific read: a historically famous event which she has hung the real facts on without spoiling any of the [political] romance. A rare event in which one man really did change the world.
She's a historian who writes really very well for we ordinary mortals. There's a bag of facts but you don't get lost in the lists of names and places, and cleverly stops the events before the later revolution, so the journey really is what matters.
My, how history gets written, rewritten and rerewritten.
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